Exhibitions – Summer 2022

During the summer you can see exhibitions produced by Nationalmuseum at tourist destinations throughout Sweden. Among others, these include Swedish Grace and ”What a joy to be a sculptor!” at Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, AfterGlow at The Gustavsberg Porcelain Museum, Ideal and Reality at Nationalmuseum Jamtli, On the Move at Läckö Castle and Lennart Nilsson Centenary at Gripsholm Castle. To mark the Swedish National Portrait Gallery’s bicentenary, an expanded selection of works from the collection will be on display at Gripsholm Castle, and a book that traces the history of the collection will be released.

Nationalmuseum
At Nationalmuseum paintings, sculpture, drawings and graphic art from the 16th century up to the beginning of the 20th century and applied art and design up to the present day are on show. Approximately 5,000 objects are presented chronologically and follow an imaginary timeline through the building. Arts, crafts, and design are displayed side by side and each era has its own exhibition hall.

Swedish Grace – Art and Design in 1920s Sweden
24 February–28 August 2022

The exhibition covers the era known as the Roaring Twenties, which in fact was a decade of contrasts. While some partied like never before, others went hungry, governments faltered, and unemployment soared. The forces of tradition and nationalism were ranged against those of new technology and international modernism. In art, everyday realism and fine craftsmanship competed with post-Cubist modernism and mass manufacturing. Architects, designers and artists drew inspiration from around the world, borrowing motifs from classical antiquity, ancient Egypt and China. The exhibition presents art, design, film and fashion from a period of transition that laid the foundations of modern society. Featured artists include Gösta Adrian-Nilsson, Otto G Carlsund, Siri Meyer, Vera Nilsson, Edward Hald, Simon Gate, Anna Petrus, Nils Fougstedt and Carl Malmsten.

“What joy to be a sculptor!” Swedish Women Artists 1880–1920
17 March–11 September 2022

“What joy to be a sculptor! Artist. Hooray!” wrote artist Ida Matton in her diary in 1923, in spite of the tribulations she sometimes experienced in her chosen profession. Traditionally, the heavy and dirty work of a sculptor was seen as a male occupation. Sculptures of nude bodies were considered unsuitable for ladies. Nevertheless, a relatively large number of women trained as sculptors in Sweden in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but many of them were subsequently forgotten. The exhibition is the result of a multi-year project involving leading Nordic art museums and independent researchers from across northern Europe. The project also had a crowdsourcing component, where the museum invited private individuals to share forgotten stories of female sculptors. Visitors will have the opportunity to recognise and rediscover sculptures from public and private settings by artists such as Ida Matton, Ruth Milles, Alice Nordin, Agnes de Frumerie and Sigrid Fridman.

The Gustavsberg Porcelain Museum
The newly renovated museum displays objects from the collection that trace the 170-year history of the Gustavsberg Porcelain Factory - the items that were created, the people who were active, and the role that the factory came to play in Swedish society. More than 3,000 objects are presented in colourfully staged exhibits based on various themes, everything from studio-created objets d’art and splendid urns to well-known porcelain services and older sanitary products, as well as enamel and plastic objects.

AfterGlow – New Nordic Porcelain
4 June 2022–23 April 2023

Is there a common aesthetic when it comes to Nordic porcelain? That’s the question under the spotlight in the AfterGlow exhibition, where 13 contemporary ceramicists working in the Nordic countries were invited to look at the history of the porcelain industry from an artistic perspective, and to create new interpretations of the design tradition. When sharing their technical and artistic experience with one another, a dialogue between artists and aesthetics was created transcending national and temporal boundaries. The result was the exhibition AfterGlow that will be presented in three different versions in three locations across Scandinavia. The participating artists are Ann-Britt ”Amba” Haglund and Karol Zarbock from Sweden, Kirsi Kivivirta, Pauliina Pöllänen and Veera Kulju from Finland, Mette Hannemann, Michael Geertsen, Ane Fabricius Christiansen and Anne Tophøj from Denmark and Andrea Scholze, Martin Woll Godal, Irene Nordli and Heidi Bjørgan from Norway.

Nationalmuseum Jamtli
Opened in 2018, Nationalmuseum Jamtli in Östersund is an art and design venue that combines the award-winning educational activities of the Jamtli museum with Nationalmuseum’s unique collections and expertise. Jamtli is responsible for managing the space as a visitor attraction, while Nationalmuseum takes care of producing the annual exhibitions with artworks from the collections.

Ideal and Reality – Nordic Nature
1 June 2022–16 April 2023

This summer Nationalmuseum Jamtli presents an exhibition featuring depictions of Nordic nature in art and applied art from the 17th century onward. At different times, nature has been seen as a source of beauty, an economic resource, an object of research and a symbol of identity. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, photographs and applied art, all drawn from Nationalmuseum’s collections. The artists represented include Anna Boberg, Otto Hesselbom, Pehr Hilleström, Elias Martin, Bruno Liljefors and Helmer Osslund, along with more recent names such as Frida Fjellman, Kerstin Hörnlund, Ingalena Klenell, Märta Mattsson and Per B Sundberg.

Läckö Castle
In the halls of the baroque castle Läckö on the shores of Lake Vänern, 17th and 18th century furniture, woven tapestries, silver objects and paintings from Nationalmuseum’s collections are on display. The Treasury displays magnificent luxury items from the golden age of Swedish power, including silver, parts of Queen Kristina’s Urbino dinnerware set, and a Nautilus trophy. Every summer an exhibition is produced where the artworks are drawn from Nationalmuseum’s collections.

On the Move
11 June–28 August 2022

The theme of this year’s summer exhibition at Läckö Castle is human travel through the ages, and how it was reflected in visual and applied art. In earlier times, most travel had a practical, economic or spiritual purpose. Pilgrimages required self-sacrifice in order to reach certain holy sites. Diplomatic missions often involved logistically complex travel arrangements and a costly façade to bolster the chances of success. In the 17th and 18th centuries in particular, young noblemen went on the grand tour of Europe and returned to Sweden with new ideas and inspiration. Explorers were motivated by curiosity and a scientific ambition to understand the world. The advent of paid leave and better wealth distribution in the 20th century opened up travel to the masses. Today, the same longing to understand the world, to discover and encounter new cultures and people, inspires leisure travel by car, train, boat and plane.

Gripsholm Castle
Gripsholm Castle is home to the Swedish National Portrait Gallery, which is the world’s oldest national portrait gallery, managed by Nationalmuseum. The collection consists of portraits from the late 15th century to the present day and is expanded every year with a number of works, including an annual Portrait of Honour. Every summer an exhibition is produced with portraits from the collection. To mark the Swedish National Portrait Gallery’s bicentenary, an expanded selection of works from the collection will be on display at Gripsholm Castle, and a book that traces the history of the collection will be released.

Lennart Nilsson Centenary
6 June–4 September 2022

This year it is 100 years since the birth of Lennart Nilsson, one of the best-known Swedish photographers both at home and abroad. His works range from royal portraits to reportage photography of contemporary life to scientific images of the inside of the human body. Lennart Nilsson began his career as a reportage photographer in the 1940s. Over the years, he worked for several of the big news magazines of the day, including the Swedish titles Se and Veckojournalen and the American Life. His work took him all over the world, from the Congo to the Arctic Ocean. The Swedish National Portrait Gallery collection includes over 50 works by Lennart Nilsson. This summer’s exhibition will present a selection of about 20 of these portraits, mainly of royalty, prominent cultural figures and politicians.

Media enquiries
Hanna Tottmar, head of press, press@nationalmuseum.se, +46 (0)8 5195 4400